This application relates to means of altering motorists to the presence of disabled vehicles or work zone areas. Each year hundreds of motorists are either killed or injured along side the roadway. Many of these accidents may be prevented if the oncoming motorist had advance warning of the presence of these disabled vehicles. The present invention is an improvement or alternative to my prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195.
In recent years, a variety of traffic warning devices have become known and reference may be had to the following U.S. patents for a description of these prior art of traffic warning devices; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,508,195, 6,681,715, 2,954,005, 3,496,904, 4,006,702, 4,197,807, 4,256,50, 2,762,327, 3,132,624, 3,520,235, 4,462,145, 4,466,376, 6,971,329 B1, 6,746,337 B1, 4,806,046, 4,090,468, 3,732,842, 3,695,213, 3,520,273, 3,234,903, 3,021,755 and 5,287,822.
Over the years there have been many attempts to provide a retractable or collapsible traffic cone. Designs have spanned from sleeves of varying diameter and taper which when extended fit into one another and form a cone shaped marker (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,954,005 and 3,496,904). Another variation of the concept is found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,762,327 where the device is inflatable and is attached to a solid base and filled with air when ready for use. Other designs have employed the varied use of coils or springs as a means of displaying the traffic control device. These devices are outlined in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,006,702, 4,256,050, 4,197,807, 4,256,050 and 5,305,705.
Other designs have employed the use of springs and a flexible membrane (U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,624) and a two-piece center support member. U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,235 describes a device that requires assembly prior to use and employs a two-piece center support pole.
In other designs three and four sided panel fan shaped members (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,466,376 and 4,462,145) are employed to form upright three and four sided triangles respectively.
While this has long been recognized as a traffic safety problem many needless deaths and injuries continue to happen every year. Current methods of enhancing motorist awareness includes; flares, solid plastic cones and collapsible or spring cones. While all devices may accomplish the same goal as the presented invention, the presented invention is designed to help eliminate current difficulties encountered with their use. With roadside flares there is the inherent short fall that they only last a given period of time and are not reusable. In addition, they are usually only several inches above the roadway service and may present difficulty in operating. Solid plastic cones are easy to place along the roadway however unless they are properly weighted and sized they may be displaced due to strong gusts of winds. In addition, the larger the cone the more storage space that is required. This is a disadvantage (especially in small passenger vehicles) and therefore reduces their attractiveness of the use. In recent years several collapsible or spring traffic cones have been introduced into the market place. The current invention is a significant improvement to these designs since the use of the flexible hinges on the vertical risers and the use of a rotating base support allows requires approximately ½ the necessary storage space. In addition, when compared to the designs that require springs (U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,705), the present invention is totally self-contained and does not require any additional locking mechanism when storing. The reduced storage space significantly increases the attractiveness of the present invention, especially in emergency response vehicles where space is at a premium.
The present invention is a variation of my prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195 in that the porous casing is replaced by a series of vertical risers. The vertical risers may be described as a rectangular or trapezoidal shaped flexible “box” where the top and bottom sides are open. The vertical risers are designed to fit within each other and are designed with flexible hinges extending its entire length on each corner so that they may store relatively flat. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195 two retractable arms are used as a means of expanding the porous casing from a compact to expanded position. In the present invention, the two retractable arms are replaced by a single retractable arm placed in the center of the lower portion as is used as a means of expanding the series of vertical risers from a compact to expanded position. As in U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195 the base supports are connected to the lower portion by a series of protruding tabs and holes. In the present invention, the lower vertical riser is connected to the base supports by a lower linkage that allows the series of vertical risers to transform from a relatively flat position is storage to a rectangular shape when the base support goes from a closed to an open position when rotated about the lower portion. In addition, the upper vertical riser is also linked to the upper portion of the retractable arm. This upper linkage allows for the vertical risers to be lifted from a compact to expanded position when the retractable arm is fully expanded. In order to help accomplish this movement the upper portion of the retractable arm contains a handle.
The Condensed Retractable Traffic Cone has been designed to be employ easily, store compactly, withstand prevailing winds and be economical.
The Condensed Retractable Traffic Cone is a combination of several pieces. The first two pieces are referenced to as the base supports. The base supports are similar in design and function to the base supports disclosed in may prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195. The base supports are connected to the lower portion in a similar manner as taught in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195. Connected to the lower portion is single retractable arm with a handle on its upper portion. When the device is fully deployed the retractable arm is perpendicular to the base supports. When the device is in storage the retractable arm is parallel to the base supports. In the present invention the porous casing taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195 is replaced by a series of vertical risers. Each vertical riser is designed with hinges along each corner that extend its entire length. This design allows for the vertical rises to be able to change shape when pressure is applied. The vertical risers are designed to fit within each other and may either be rectangular or slightly tapered. In order to reduce wind load on the sign support structure, the each vertical riser may be designed with “air-flow” holes. Also the bottom portion of the retractable arm may be designed in the shape of a spring that would allow for the slight deflection of the present invention when subject to high wind loads. Allowing for this slight deflection may reduce the overall weight of the device thereby potentially reducing its cost.
In addition, reflective decals may be affixed to the vertical risers to correspond with traffic control device design standards. The actual number of vertical risers employed depends on application.
The two base supports are intended to provide the necessary weight to ensure that the device is not displaced under reasonable wind loads. Similar to U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195, each base support also has several strategically placed tabs. The base support is primarily a rectangular type box with the top end and one of the sides open. The long sides of the base support contain a tab at the “open” end of the box. These tabs are designed to allow the base support to be affixed to holes in the lower portion. Similar to U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,195, the lower portion has been designed with “protruding” tabs.
The Condensed Retractable Traffic Cone has been designed for easy placement during emergency situations. The first step in the application process is to rotate the two base supports from the closed to the open position and locked (parallel with the lower portion). After the base support is fixed in the open position, the series of vertical risers is then expanded by simply pulling in a vertical manner the handle on the upper portion of the retractable arm. This is continued until all the vertical risers are in fully extended position. At this point the invention is ready for application.
The present invention offers an improvement over the previous designs in that the base support has been designed to fold in half thereby significantly reducing the necessary storage space when compared to similar sized designs. Through the use of “hinged” vertical risers that store effectively “flat” when not in operation and then “open” when in operation, significantly also reduces the necessary storage space when compared to devices that use a rigid sleeve design. This improved storage efficiency in both the base support and the vertical risers increases the attractiveness of the present invention to the user since it requires significantly less storage space when compare to the current state of the art. This is especially essential when the users are the highway motorcycle patrol or motorcyclists in general. The present invention has been designed to fit into the side compartment of their motorcycle. This is envisioned as a primary application for the present invention.
In addition when compared to spring or coil type devices the present invention does not require any additional “locking” mechanism. Also when compared to some previous designs the present invention is totally “self-contained” and requires no assembly prior to implementation.
Further, the device has been designed so that “reflective decals” can be directly affixed to the device to alert motorists. Several other designs, especially those that require the use of a spring or a coil require the use of a “flexible reflective material”. “Reflective decals” (similar to those used on existing traffic control devices) are usually brittle and would crack when stored in a compressed position, therefore they would not be recommended for many of the previously discussed prior designes. “Reflective tape” may also be used in many of the previously disclosed designed. While less brittle than “decals” they have a problem with wrinkling when compressed. A primary benefit of the use of reflective “decals” or “tape” is the reduced cost when compared to “collars” currently used on rigid traffic cones and on several existing “collapsible” devices.